Western Region’s Benedict Afful scored in injury-time as they capped a dominant performance to clinch the 2024 KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship title with a deserved 2-1 win over Eastern Region in Thursday’s final at Prampram.
The captain tapped in from close range in the 93rd minute to steal a dramatic victory for the Western show boys at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence.
Stephen Cobbinah scored his sixth goal for Western Region with the opener in the 17th minute before Shaibu Abubakar pulled parity from the spot in the 28th minute.
A 1-1 draw looked set for the final result, but Western Region snatched victory with a beautiful tap-in effort from Benedict Afful, who drilled home a shot inside the box in the third minute of injury time. That was also his sixth goal of the campaign.
Coach Cosmos Amankwah’s side held on for a sorely-needed victory at the GFA Technical Centre at Prampram.
Thursday’s result is the culmination of an incredible Championship for Western Region, as they put up a dominant display in the 12-day event.
Western Region capped an incredible performance in the talent identification Championship with a deserved win against Eastern Region.
This is the side’s first ever title in the famous Championship, started four years ago with funding from KGL Foundation.
Eastern Region midfielder Seth Kwame Alex was adjudged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) after he put up a decent shift at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence.
The 2024 edition of the Championship has highlighted several talented players who will be groomed for the various national youth teams.
The KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship, launched in 2021, has been an avenue for talent discovery for clubs, particularly Premier and Division One League clubs, with several players being beneficiaries of the esteemed competition.
The Championship is aimed at identifying, training and developing young talents for the national youth teams.
GFA President Edwin Simeon-Okraku led a 12-member Executive Council members to watch the epic final at the Technical Centre of the Football Association.
Western Region are officially crowned champions of the 2024 KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship, in a thrilling conclusion in the talent identification championship.
